Texas State exceeds $110 million campaign goal

Posted by University News Service

Aug. 22, 2012

Texas State University has exceeded its Pride in Action fund-raising campaign goal of $110 million by more than $15 million, university President Denise Trauth announced Wednesday.

Trauth delivered the good news to Texas State faculty and staff during the annual University Convocation and General Faculty Meeting in Strahan Coliseum. The event traditionally marks the opening of the new academic year. To celebrate the campaign’s success, a banner declaring that $125 million has been raised was unfurled from the coliseum roof.

Texas State launched the Pride in Action Campaign in 2006 with a stated goal of $110 million to support five “Pillars” that the university sought to improve upon: academic excellence, a performing arts center, athletics, the library and alumni relations.

“We knew our goal to raise $110 million was bold, but we also knew it was an important goal in order to take this university to the next level,” said Trauth.

Many major donors who helped make the success of the campaign possible attended the convocation and applauded as Trauth announced that the goal had been surpassed.

“It is heartening to see the value our donors place on academic excellence,” said Trauth. “They know as we do that this type of philanthropic support is a critical building block for ensuring our success as a top national university.”

Trauth said exceeding the original campaign goal was one of many recent successes and accomplishments at Texas State.

“Perhaps our biggest shot in the arm came earlier this year, when we were designated as one of the state’s Emerging Research Universities. With this designation, we now qualify for state funds that match private donations on a sliding scale. That allows us to leverage contributions to our research activities,” she said.

Trauth said Texas State continues its pattern of growth and that enrollment is expected to be approximately 35,000 this fall, an all-time high. She said such an increase in enrollment would move Texas State closer to becoming the fourth-largest university in Texas.

“The increase almost assuredly will bring us up a few spots from our current perch as the nation’s 34^th largest university,” she said.

The university’s growth is reflected in the many construction projects visible on campus. Trauth said Texas State currently has 26 construction projects totaling $585 million taking place across campus.

Trauth said Texas State continues to reflect the changing demographics of Texas and that the university is doing an excellent job retaining and graduating minority students. In 2010, the university achieved Hispanic Serving Institution status. That designation is awarded to universities with 25 percent or greater Hispanic student undergraduate enrollment. HSI designation makes a university eligible to receive certain federal grants.

“So far, the university has received a half-dozen grants worth more than $9.6 million because of the HSI designation. Those grants help with student access and success, which is critical to our mission of helping drive the Texas economy,” she said.

Trauth also acknowledged the opening over the summer of Texas State’s Personalized Academic and Career Exploration (PACE) Center, an effort aimed at improving academic advisement and increasing the success of incoming students.

“PACE brings together freshman advising, career planning and mentoring into one place. The center will help our students match their career interests with their abilities. Then it will guide them in determining what it takes to achieve the results they want,” Trauth said.